By some ancient accounts, Prague’s Jewish community is as old as the city itself. The earliest written reference to Prague dates from the 10th century, and was recorded by the Jewish merchant, Ibrahim Ibn Jakub. From the beginning, the Jewish population had to contend with a Christian majority that viewed them with great suspicion, and at times, blind hatred.
Starting in the 13th century, Prague’s Jewish citizens suffered from oppressive laws, and were often the victims of brutal pogroms. It was at this time that the Jewish population was walled into The Old Ghetto.
The Old-New Synagogue, built in the 13th century, was the scene of a massacre of Jewish citizens during the Easter Pogrom of 1389.
Today it is Europe’s oldest functioning synagogue, a defiant testament to the endurance of Prague’s Jewish community. Josefov, named for the 18th century Emperor Joseph II, preserves this priceless legacy. Its historical buildings, monuments and cultural artifacts manifest the richest collection of Jewish history in Europe.
The community has also well-served Prague’s artists and writers over these many centuries. Many of the legends that constitute “Magic Prague” refer to the Old Ghetto. The gravestones of the Old Jewish cemetery, the life of the 16th century scholar, Rabbi Low, and the counter-clockwise hands on the Hebrew clock of its town hall have inspired works by Gustav Meiring, Nobel Prize winner Jaroslav Seifert, Franz Kafka and the poet, Apollinaire.
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